Jinchuuriki's Final Chapter
by animemaniac27894567
Summary: The nine Jinchuuriki are finally getting back to their lives, when a mysterious stranger appears. How will they react to this new man's threat, on top of the two reamining Akatsuki members? Sequel to Jinchuuriki Nine.
1. Kichirou Kanbara

_**Disclaimer**_

K. I'm not sure if I have to write these things but I will. I don't claim any rights to Naruto or the charecters. I give full credit to the rightful owners, blah, blah, blah. Except _my_ story line. I mean I have no problem with them using it _in_ Naruto, but I want credit if they do. lmao.

Sasuke strolled calmly through the streets of Konoha, greeting the people he was familiar with and nodding to others. His smile, wave and the way he walked told people that he was genuinely glad to see them, but – only noticeable to the people who really knew him – his anxiety showed through whenever his eyes darted up the street, like he was looking for someone. Which he was.

His dark eyes stopped moving around when he caught a flash of bright pink hair, quickly excusing himself from the conversation one of Konoha's dumpling makers had started and he hurried towards Sakura.

Sakura was talking to someone Sasuke didn't recognize, he heard her ask how the woman's children were doing as he approached. He wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and nodded at the woman over Sakura's shoulder.

"Oh, they're doing great. I have great hopes for the twins, they're in the academy now, did you know that?" The woman asked, smiling warmly at Sasuke in response. "But forget my menial troubles, Sakura, how are you doing? I heard you got three Genin students?"

"Oh, yeah, it's kinda annoying that I'm going to have to go on a bunch of low-ranked missions, now, but someone needs to train them, right?" Sakura grinned at her and waved goodbye before letting Sasuke lead her away. The pink-haired kunoichi tilted her to watch Sasuke as he let his arms slip away from her waist, his hand travelling down to hers. Concern flitted across her green eye. "Too much work again? I told you: take a break every few hours, walk around, get some air, _relax_."

"Hn…" Sasuke responded half-heartedly, his eyes flickering up to the full moon above them.

"So, the Genin passed the test? Were they as bad as we were?"

Sakura shook her head and leaned against his side. "No, they started out great. Working together flawlessly, but when it got closer to lunch they started getting into fights and strategizing less. Hunger must've gotten to them. They passed, though, _barely_." She responded, her eyes flickering to meet his. "But don't try and change the subject. When did Tsunade say you'd be getting an assistant?"

Sasuke sighed, knowing that Sakura wouldn't let him drop it until she got the answer she was looking for. "She didn't, I'm thinking that I'm just going to get Karin to file the paperwork for me until Tsunade finds someone. It's not like she's going to do anything with the information, she's a Leaf ninja now, but…." He let his voice trail off, Sakura nodded – understanding his concern. Even if they knew Karin wouldn't turn and betray Konoha, but Konoha didn't know that so it could cause problems if anyone found out. "Though I have considered delegating my work onto one of the officers, maybe Squad five's leader, he hasn't had a good mission in a while. Paperwork is probably looking really good to him right now."

She giggled in response, gently elbowing him in the ribs. "You can't delegate _everything_, Sasuke. You're the boss, the boss does the paper work, right?" She asked, grinning up at him. "That's your job."

"The boss should also be out there, working with his employees. It's good for them to see who they work for, builds respect." He responded immediately, repeating something he had heard his father say when he was younger.

"Sure, sure. What restaurant are we going to, anywho?" Sakura asked, a grin flitting across her face.

"Sure, _I_ can't change the subject, but _you_ can?" Sasuke countered, moving his hand out of hers and wrapping his arm around her waist instead.

"Hey! I'm hungry, neither of us had lunch _or_ breakfast, I'm just trying to keep us healthy!" She cried defensively.

Sasuke sighed in defeat and gestured vaguely at a small restaurant a block away from them. He had chosen it _because_ it was small and quiet. He and Sakura both hated it when they were in public and people would openly stare – unlike their hyperactive teammate, who adored the attention – so they usually only went out to quiet places. Unless they were with some of the other Jinchuuriki, for those occasions, Ichiraku Ramen had become their 'main eatery' - as Naruto called it. Sasuke stopped outside the restaurant and asked Sakura quiety if she'd stay outside so he could 'check on their reservations.' She laughed and sat down on a bench beside the door. Sasuke ducked inside, he had asked the shop's owner to have their food ready so they could get back faster – Neji had told him that he needed to talk to all the Jinchuuriki about something, if they were all there or not.

When he was sure everything was there, Sasuke moved back outside. A man Sasuke recognized slightly was waving goodbye to Sakura and walking away from her. Sasuke frowned – not knowing where he recognized the man from – and placed a hand on Sakura's shoulder.

"Who was that?" He asked her gently, offering her a hand up. She accepted it and let him pull her to her feet.

"Dunno, just some." She grinned up at him, her green eyes sparkling. "He said that we make a very nice couple, he asked how many children we have."

Sasuke was about to join in her laughter when he realized where he recognized the man from. Dots connected in his mind and he swore violently, bolting after the man. Sakura called after him and he could hear her following him, but he didn't answer any of the questions she was yelling at him - he didn't have any of the answers. When the man didn't come into view immediately, the Uchiha survivor jumped onto the closest rooftop and leaned over the edge, scanning the crowds as he searched for the man. He swore again. At this time of night – right after most businesses closed – it was next to impossible to find _anyone_ in this crowd, let alone a man Sasuke had only met once or twice.

"Sasuke, what's going on?" Sakura asked from beside him, her hand gently gripping his elbow. Concern was etched in every corner of her face.

Sasuke's eyes locked on hers, his heart hammering in his chest. His arms darted out and he pulled her against him. "Sakura, if you ever see that man again, promise me that you'll go straight to the nearest Jinchuuriki and contact me somehow. Wait with them until I come get out, alright?" Her mouth opened to ask another question but he shook his head and gripped her shoulders tightly. "_Promise_ me, Sakura."

"I promise, Sasuke. But, who was that man?" She asked, her concern slowly turning to fear as she saw how truly terrified the raven-haired man was. "Sasuke, who was he?"

"I'm sorry, but we're going to have to cancel our dinner plans." He responded, dodging her question skilfully as he glanced over his shoulder. "I'll explain everything when we get back home."

Sakura was about to argue with him but he jumped to the next roof, heading in the direction of the Jinchuuriki District – a large grouping of houses that only held nine people. She swore under her breath and followed him, yelling questions after him in hopes that he'd suddenly feel cooperative and answr them.

Sasuke was waiting on the porch of the main building – their headquarters, of sorts – watching her carefully, as if she were a bomb that was about to explode. Sakura met his gaze.

"What's going on, Sasuke? Who was that and why did he scare you so much?" She asked, forcing her annoyance back so it was replaced by fear – knowing that her fear would affect Sasuke more than her anger.

He reached out and took her hand, gently pulling her into the room. Their friends – the other Jinchuuriki, their teams and the _taka_ members – were sitting around the large main table, food spread out between them. Karin and Ino seemed to be argueing about something, with _taka_ and Team Asuma trying to calm them down. Naruto was bragging about his new Hokage-in-training jobs to Hinata, she was hanging off his every word. The others were all talking about the newest Shinobi or other common topics around the village. Neji's eyes flickered up to meet Sasuke's. Confusion flickered across his face when he took in the Uchiha's expression, his pale eyes moved to Sakura questioningly. She just shrugged in response, shaking her head slowly.

Neji excused himself from the conversation he was in and joining the two by the door."What happened?" The Hyuuga asked immediately, aware that the conversation behind them had quieted some.

"That file you gave me today, it had a photo of a man in it. The man that was the leader of this treason, correct?" Sasuke asked, ignoring the confused look Sakura was sending the two of them.

"Yes, Kichirou Kanbara, one of Orochimaru's old servants, head of the torterer's unit for Sound, fled to Konoha when you killed Orochimaru. Earned his citizenship about two years ago, hasn't been any trouble, until now but that's only because he doesn't want someone as young as Naruto to lead the entire village." Neji responded, as if he was reading straight off the man's folder – which he had probably memorized. "Why do you ask? I gave you my report and didn't miss anything, did I?"

"No." Sasuke responded, his hand tightening sightly on Sakura's as panic made it's way into his veins. "No, you didn't miss anything. I did. I should have made this connection sooner. Damnit."

"That Kichi-whatever guy is the guy that talked to me, isn't he?" Sakura asked quietly, ignoring the look that Neji shot her. Sasuke nodded weakly, realizing just how close Sakura came to loosing her life. She wouldn't have thought that someone with a Konoha headband would attack her so she wouldn't have fought back. If Sasuke hadn't left the restaurant when he did…."He talked to you?" Neji demanded, shooting a look over his shoulder. Aware that the others had stopped talking and were watching them, he herded the two members of Team Kakashi farther into the hall. "What did he say, _excactly_?"

"Um… He said that he couldn't help noticing me and my 'husband.' Cause he though we were married, I guess. He said he was sorry if he was prying then asked how many kids we have. I told him that we're not married and barely eighteen. He apologized and laughed, saying something about us being close enough that it was hard to believe he was just my boyfriend. He said that young love had always seemed amazing to him and asked how long we'd been going out." Sakura responded thoughtfully, trying to remember his exact words. "I told him and then he said that it would have been five years. I said that I was sorry, then Sasuke came out and he said goodbye."

"Five years?" Neji repeated, his pale eyes locking on her green ones before switching to Sasuke's. "What happened five years ago?"

"Five years ago, that's when I joined Orochimaru. Actually…" Sasuke responded, anger flashing across his face. "Actually, I think it's five years to the day…"

Neji swore and headed back into the room, gesturing at his teammates. Lee and Tenten were on their feet in seconds. "We're heading out. Kichirou Kanbara just went up three levels on our most-wanted scale. Go and esemble our team, tell everyone to pack up and meet me at the gate in five minutes." He turned back to Sasuke. "I think I can safely say that this is no longer about Naruto becoming Hokage in a few months. This is personal. Why would he want to attack you… or Sakura?"

Sasuke closed his eyes, thinking. "If I remember correctly, he was one of Orochimaru's main advisors until I came alone. He never treated me any differently than anyone else so I assumed it was all in the past." He responded, hating that he was the victim in this case. If he was the victim, they 'attacker' – Kichirou – would go at the easiest way to get at him: Sakura. Now he understood why Sakura broke up with him last year, he understood the need to protect the ones he loved. He opened his mouth to tell her to stay near him at all times but she pressed her index finger to his mouth.

"Don't even think about it, Uchiha. I'm an instructor now so I need to go on missions with those kids. I promised and just cause some guy's jealous that a dead guy liked _you_ more doesn't mean I'm going to hide behind you until he's gone." Sakura paused before adding. "Did you really think I'd say anything different?"

Sasuke sighed, shaking his head. "No, but it was worth a try, right?"


	2. No Man Squad

_**Disclaimer**_

K. I'm not sure if I have to write these things but I will. I don't claim any rights to Naruto or the charecters. I give full credit to the rightful owners, blah, blah, blah. Except _my_ story line. I mean I have no problem with them using it _in_ Naruto, but I want credit if they do. lmao.

Sasuke leaned against the wall moodily, glaring at Neji's back as the Hyuuga and his ANBU team left the Konoha gates. They had been scheduling this mission for over a week, Sasuke had been the one who was supposed to lead this mission with Sakura - who had planned to take the day off from her three-man squad - was supposed to be his second-in-command. Neji would be there too, of course, he was Sasuke's best squad commander, but he had meant it to be a mission for him and Sakura. And he knew it hurt her as much as him to watch the others leave without them, it was too dangerous for them to leave at that moment. Not that she said anything, but he saw her face fall when he told her that they couldn't personally go pick up Kouta from her Onee-chan's house.

Of course, she hadn't been home long enough for him to try to assure her that Neji would be perfectly able to make sure Kouta got back to the Jinchuuriki District healthy and happy. She had scheduled to meet her three-man squad at the gate's for their first mission the Fire Daimyo's wife had lost her cat, Tora, again - making the Team Kakashi suspect that she 'lost' it on purpose so that the Genin could look for it.

So, that left Sasuke alone to finish his paperwork in peace… which was not what he wanted to do that day. Not that he had any choice at all in the matter. It would only be a matter of waiting before Sakura got back from her mission and could come help him, finding Tora was generally as easy task with a talented Jounin around. Then he could take her back to the restaurant they had gone to the night before, and eat in peace while the rest of the town was working.

When he had mentioned his plans to the others, they had objected - of course - saying that Kichirou might be waiting for them to come back. But, Sasuke knew otherwise. He had only gone to talk with Sakura to prove to Sasuke that he was vulnerable in his new position. When he was with Orochimaru and _taka_ - and even when they were fleeing the Akatsuki - he had been safe. If his life with the snake sannin had taught him anything, it was to never stay in one place for longer than absolutely necessary, keep your patterns different, never let your enemies learn your routine! He had once forgotten those rules and was ambushed on the way out of his room one morning, nearly lost his life - ever since that moment he made it a normal habit to use different exits out of his house so his enemies wouldn't be able to learn his routine - though he couldn't do anything about his ANBU work hours.

He shook his head slowly and pushed away from the wall, it wouldn't do to get caught up in old times at this point in his life. He had a routine that would be very easy for his enemies - and he _did_ have enemies - to memorize and to use to track him down. There was nothing he could do about that, all he could do was make sure they weren't able to sneak up on him.

Slowly, Sasuke pushed himself away from the wall - only when the ANBU were out of sight - and made his way back to their headquarters, already dreading the piles of paperwork on his desk. It was the job of the squad leaders to get their squads individual reports together, use those to make their own and to add any inconsistencies. It was Sasuke's job to read those reports and try to find connections that may or may not exist, occurrences that should repeat but don't, then report to the Hokage and ask for permission to respond accordingly. It was a long, annoying - in his opinion - process, but one that needed to be done. Sakura had suggested a few times that he drop out of the ANBU head position, and move to something that would fit him better - field work as a squad leader - but he refused every time, saying that it had run in his family for generations so it was his duty to take up the position now.

Sakura glanced around the trees, making sure her three genin were in position before signalling for them to move. Like she had expected, none of them coordinated - apart from jumping at the same time - and ended up slamming into each other. Even though Kakashi took every opportunity to remind Team Kakashi how horrible they used to be as a team, these three made their past selves look like sannin. The only reason she had to pass them, was because there were only two other teams that passed - they needed three and Sakura was the most likely to be able to train these three into somewhat decent Shinobi. Even though they were usually horrible, one seemed worse than usual.

Tora leapt off the grass, scratching her youngest student across the face before racing away. The other two genin didn't hesitate to run after it, tackling it and wrestling the large, fat cat to the ground. Sakura ignored the fallen boy - knowing that he was alright and it would only hurt his pride if she stopped to heal him in front of the others - walking towards her only female student, who happened to be holding Tora at arm's length by the scruff of his neck. Sakura picked up the cat and held it in front of her.

"Yeah, this is him. Bow on the tail." She noted that the poor cat's owner had moved the ribbon to it's tail instead of it's ear, but didn't say anything to her students and started back towards Konoha, handing the cat to her other male student as she fell back to walk with the youngest. "You know, my sensai always says that he got lost on the path of life." She said conversationally, keeping her eyes on the distant city instead on the thirteen year old boy. "He just uses it as an excuse because he's too lazy to wake up, but it looks like you're actually lost right now. Problems at home?"

The young boy looked up at her, frowning as he tried to make sense of what she had said. He opened his mouth, about to say 'no' but paused, nodding instead. "My mom says you're the container of a demon…" He told her slowly, gauging her reaction - so he'd have advanced notice if she got angry - but Sakura kept her face neutral. "She says that demon host's loose control of the demon's powers a lot, and that it's dangerous for me to be your student. She's going to the Hokage today, to see if she can get me into another squad… But…. But I like it here! I don't want to leave this squad. I've seen all the other Jounin, none of them have the same look that you do. You've _been_ there, you actually know what it's like and can teach us how to actually protect ourselves. I heard Iruka-sensai talking to another sensai when we were waiting for the Jounin to pick us up, we barely passed, didn't we…? You're the only reason we're still genin, aren't you?"

Sakura sighed deeply, she had figured that someone would complain about the Jinchuuriki being teachers, but she had figured more people would complain about them teaching at the academy than as three-man squad leaders. "Yeah, I am. Tsunade-shishou said that I'd be the one most likely to be able to train you. She said that if you caused too much trouble, then I'd dismiss the team and send you back to the academy. It's too bad, really, you three were starting to grow on me." Of course, she was lying, but she felt bad about being so truthful with him - since it would probably hurt his young mind - and had to add a nice comment to it all.

"She's going to send them back, as well?" The boy asked meekly, his expression falling - probably imagining what his team would do to him when they realized it was his fault they were no longer shinobi.

"Most likely." Sakura said, nodding her head - more to herself than him, though. "Please don't blame your mother, though, she's just worried about you. It's hard for parents to let their kids go and I _have_ lost control before."

He frowned, but didn't say anything, shoving his hands deep in his pockets as they passed through the town's front gates.

Sasuke moved closer to Sakura, wrapping his arms around her waist before pulling her into his lap and resting his chin on the top of her head. She intertwined her fingers with his, over top of her stomach. He knew something was wrong with her, but didn't want to push her so he was giving her the room to answer in her own time. The Uchiha gazed around the room. Ino and Karin were arguing again - they both still thought of Sakura as a rival, but rarely argued with her anymore - with Hinata desperately trying to calm them down, as Naruto told her not to bother from the other side of the table. Shikamaru was teaching Jugo to play Go - and was actually having a hard time winning - with Suigetsu, Sai and Chouji watching with bored expressions. Shino and Kiba were talking quietly. Team Guy still wasn't back. Anyone else would think it was strange how fast they had become friends with each other - considering they were all separated into four three-man teams, the teams merged with one another easily.

Though, anyone else wouldn't know what they had gone through. Not only had they all fought the Akatsuki at some point, at least one of their team mates was a Jinchuuriki which was 'the glue that held them together' - in Naruto's words.

Sakura sighed softly and leaned back so she could look at him. "The parents of one of my students is complaining that her son is being taught by a demon host." She grumbled, her eyebrows creasing together as the only sign that she was truly annoyed by it. "She's afraid that I'm going to loose control around them and kill them, meaning I'm not going to be a teacher anymore."

Sasuke paused, nodding slowly. If not for the expression on Sakura's face, he'd be jumping for joy. Without the children to look after, she'd be sent on regular Jounin missions. Which might sound worse - because they're a higher rank - but it also meant there would be other jounin around to help her. With only genin, she would put all her strength into protecting them and wouldn't try to help herself at all if someone ambushed them, so she'd be in more danger even though it'd only be a D- or C-ranked mission. He kept imaging how injured Kakashi had been after the fight with Zabuza, except Sakura was the injured one and the Akatsuki or Kichirou were in the place of Zabuza. On the other hand, she had been more excited about being the leader of a three-man squad than he'd seen her in a while. Not that he'd admit it, but he'd give anything to make her that happy again.

"You'll just have to wait a while, until next year. Lots of jounin don't have genin right now, so you'll just have to wait for the next genin exam." He told her, trying to be soothing - although he had no idea how to make her feel better. "And remember, Kouta will be here soon so you can train him to pass the exams so he'll be your student this time next year. Think about it, he'll be this year's genius."

Sakura smiled softly to herself, her eyes locked on the wall opposite her, but it looked more like she was looking through it and seeing something that was invisible to Sasuke's eyes.


	3. She's Next

_**Disclaimer**_

K. I'm not sure if I have to write these things but I will. I don't claim any rights to Naruto or the characters. I give full credit to the rightful owners, blah, blah, blah. Except _my_ story line. I mean I have no problem with them using it _in_ Naruto, but I want credit if they do. lmao.

Sasuke walked slowly towards his room, aware of the loud argument - Naruto and Chouji yelling about the world's best ramen flavour - in the room behind him. Most of their strange group had left for bed already, but were probably waking up now because of the noise. Not that it mattered to him, of course, his room was far enough away from them that the walls would block out any noise they made. He paused outside the bathroom, where the door was open a crack which allowed him to see Sakura's reflection the mirror. She had a toothbrush in her mouth, and a comb in her hand as she hummed a song softly to herself. Her green eyes moved towards the door, locking onto Sasuke's. She pulled the toothbrush out of her mouth and spat the toothpaste out.

"What are they arguing about this time? Ramen again?" She asked cheerfully, as if it was the funniest thing in the world.

Sasuke nodded, pushing the door open with his foot and stepping closer to her. Sakura turned around, so she was facing him - though he could still see her setting her brush comb and toothbrush down in her reflection. When he was sure they were out of the way, he wrapped his arms around Sakura's waist and lifted her onto the counter behind her, so they were at eye level, and pressed his lips against hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck, her fingers running through his raven-hair.

Before either of them could even consider to move their relationship any farther, a loud, piercing scream broke through all noise in the building. The argument immediately stopped in the next room and the two Team Kakashi members pulled apart, staring at each other - as if asking if they had heard it too. A second scream broke through their thoughts, snapping them into attention. They both shot from the room, almost as if they were racing each other to the front door. The other inhabitants of the Jinchuuriki District had already left the main room, the front door was gaping open to let the pair know where they had gone.

Sasuke reached the door before Sakura, stopping in the doorway so she slammed into his back. It wasn't that he was trying to protect her from what was outside - it would be impossible - but that it shocked _him_. Hinata was standing in front of three still forms, terror drawn across her face as tears streamed down her cheeks. Karin, Suigetsu and Jugo were subconsciously huddled together, staring at the scene in front of them - almost as if they were afraid that if they left each other's presence they'd end up like the three in front of them. Naruto was standing closest to Hinata, physically shaking with anger. The others were standing closest to the house, too afraid to move. Hinata collapsed to her knees, sobbing weakly, which gave the two in the doorway perfect view of the three forms on the ground.

Neji was closest to them, lying on his stomach. There was a large bloody stain on the dirt around him, probably coming from the three gashes running diagonally across his back. A huge black splotch was covering his right eye, with other scratches across his face. His headband was barely held together with a few threads, a dent covering lead symbol. Tenten and Lee were farther behind him, both unconscious with similar injuries. The former had blood on her hair, from a gash on her right temple. She had other scratches running along her arms and legs - it was impossible to tell what color her cloths had been before because they were soaked in red blood. Lee was the worst of the three of them. He had a kunai sticking out of his stomach, with other - obviously weapon - wounds running long his front and sides. From where they were, they couldn't even tell if he was breathing.

Naruto immediately snapped into action. "Ino, Karin, Hinata, help Sakura. Do what she says. Imouto, heal them. Do you hear me? Don't you let them die!" He yelled over his shoulder, looking around at the others to see who else could help. "Sasuke, get some of your people together and _find who did this_. Shikamaru, you're with me. Sai, you too, send a message ahead to wake Tsunade, Shizune, and any of the committee up. Let's go!"

"Suigetsu, Jugo, let's go!" Sasuke yelled, watching as the blond disappeared from view - with Shikamaru and Sai right behind him. The Uchiha was about to jump towards the forest - obviously the direction they had come from - when he noticed that Karin hadn't moved, and was watching him expectantly. "Karin, make sure they get these three inside, make sure they listen to Sakura and make sure she doesn't over exert herself. You better have a report for me when I get back."

With that, he was gone. Immediately, Karin started barking orders - sounding almost like the two members of Team Kakashi. Sakura had moved around the crying Hyuuga to look at the three bloody ninja. The others were still shaking, obviously not knowing what to do. So the red-head took charge.

"You two - Chouji and Kiba - get these three inside _now_. Shino, get as lots of blankets or something to lay them on, and buckets of water - hot water. If you can find first-aid kits or bandages or any kind of healing stuff you _bring it_."

Kiba moved forward, picking Lee off the ground and heading towards the house, with Sakura moving around his right arm to try and heal Lee while they were walking. Chouji used his Partial Expansion jutsu so he could carry Neji and Tenten in each hand. Ino paused, glancing at Hinata before hurrying after the pink-haired kunoichi. Karin glared at Hinata's back for a moment, waiting until the younger girl stood up and headed towards the house before following her inside. The three injured shinobi wouldn't make it if all _four _medics didn't help them _immediately_ - even then, the chances of all of them surviving were slim. Of course, she didn't know how fast Jinchuuriki's healed or how long they could survive injuries of that extent.

Inside the main room, someone had shoved the table off to the side and placed three blankets against the wall where the Team Guy members were laying. Sakura was already ordering the others around, falling right into place as head medic. Kiba, Chouji and Shino were wiping antiseptic and other salves on Tenten and Neji's injuries, wrapping bandages around them to try and stop the bleeding. Ino and Sakura were sitting on either side of Lee, their hands glowing an emerald green color as Lee's flesh knit back together. Even though the worst of his wounds were already closing, it would still take most of the night to fix _him _alone. Hinata moved towards them, bending over his left leg to heal the wound there. Without hesitating, Karin yanked her sleeve up to her elbow and bent down next to the bowl-haired ANBU. Sakura's green eyes narrowed when she saw what Karin was doing, but didn't complain - as they probably wouldn't survive if she didn't.

The red-head hissed in pain when she forced Lee's teeth closed on her skin, pausing only long enough to wipe the blood of her arm and pull up her other sleeve before moving towards Neji. Ino swore under her breath, moving closer to Lee's head so she was sitting next to the injury on his shoulder.

Sasuke raced through the trees, rage coursing through his veins. He had no doubt in his mind that the man - Kichirou - had been the one to attack them. None of the others had noticed, but their bodies were too equally spaced to have been coincidental. If they had dragged themselves there - which was practically impossible with their injuries - one of the Jinchuuriki would have felt their pain - they couldn't feel each other when one was unconscious. But Sasuke had noticed the message. When he had first gone to Orochimaru's lab, Kabuto pointed out that Orochimaru's name was carved into their bodies somewhere. Sakura and the others wouldn't notice when they were healing them, but when they were lined up like that, their injuries spelled out Kichirou's name.

He had marked them, though Sasuke didn't know if he was trying to scare him or just prove he was strong enough to be considered Sasuke's opponents. Either way, it pissed Sasuke off in a way that he had never been angry before. He and Sakura had been the ones who were assigned to that mission, Team Guy had been hurt because he was hadn't been aloud to go. Kichirou had probably been waiting for him to show up but jumped at the chance to send Sasuke another message.

Jugo and Suigetsu were trailing behind him, both quiet - scared that their leader was about to turn around and take his anger out of them - as they thought back on what had just happened. They reached a small clearing - the place where Sakura lured the two Hyuuga's when they lost control of their demons - where blood was splattered across the ground. Kunai were lying around the ground, only outnumbered by the shuriken around them. It was obviously not the place where their three friends had been attacked, but there was enough blood to prove this was where most of their injuries happened.

Sasuke stopped on the branch at the edge of the clearing, his jaw tight as his eyes scanned the bloody grass. Jugo jumped next to him, with Suigetsu standing on the ground below them.

"Does that…." Jugo murmured, his eyes darting around the blood. "_She's next_?"

"What?" Suigetsu called up, turning his head to look up at his team mates. "Who's next?"

When neither of them responded, he jumped to their level, gazing around the gory scene. Within a few moments, he froze, his lips moving as he mouthed out the words that were written in blood across the grass. He stumbled slightly, grabbing onto the tree so he didn't fall over.

"He's talking about Sakura…isn't he?" He said dully, panic filling his eyes as his imagination pictured Sakura in the place that Team Guy had been in moments ago.

Sakura glanced across Tenten's body, making sure that Kiba and Chouji had securing wrapped the few injuries on Neji and Lee that weren't bad enough for them to heal immediately. Their wrapping was loose - they were probably scared to hurt the injured shinobi - and blood was still leaking through, but it would be good enough until Sakura could go back to heal them. Karin and Hinata - undoubtedly the worst of the four healers - were healing the smaller wounds on Tenten's leg while Sakura and Ino worked on the gash across her stomach. What happened to them was no better than a butchering. The person had chopped them up numerously, pulling out more blood than was necessary to kill them.

Obviously they hadn't dragged themselves to the Jinchuuriki District, which meant he - or she - brought them there. But why…?

Ino leaned back with a sigh, when the last of Tenten's major injuries were healed. She stood up and moved towards the other two healers. Sakura moved to follow her, but Karin grabbed her wrist.

"Hey, there was a pretty bad wound on Lee. D'you mind checking it for me, so it doesn't end up killing him or something?" Karin asked innocently.

Sakura frowned, even if Karin _had_ found a near fatal wound on Lee, she would have tried to heal it herself. Of course, Sakura's mind was getting foggy from all the chakra she had used, so she didn't realized it until the red-head straightened her hand and slammed it against her neck. She barely saw the other five room occupants move towards her before the darkness covered her vision…


End file.
